VIRGINIA POWER AND DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SPENT FUEL TRANSPORTATION EXPERIENCE

Spent fuel assemblies for the Spent Fuel Storage Cask Testing Program conducted by EG and G Idaho, Inc., at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) were transported to the INEL. A total of 69 spent fuel assemblies (23 shipments) were shipped from Virginia Power's nuclear power plant at Surry, Virginia, to the INEL between July 1985 and June 1986 to fill and test three spent fuel storage casks. The shipments were made over the highway system in Transnuclear, Inc., TN-8L shipping casks on specially constructed trailers. The shipments were moved by diesel tractors owned and operated by Tri-State Motor Transit Company of Joplin, Missouri. The gross vehicle weight for each shipment was 112,000 lb, which was a major consideration when selecting routes for the shipments. Cooperative negotiations with officials for the 17 states involved obtained authorization to transport through their states. The shipping campaign was successfully completed through close communication and cooperation and careful planning and operation by all organizations involved.